Russian Imperial Modernization: The General and the Specific

This article is devoted to the problem of the distinctiveness of Russian modernization in connection with a discussion of Boris Mironov’s new monograph, “The Russian Empire: From Tradition to Modernity”. There are different theoretical interpretations of the processes of modernization as the transition from traditional to modern society. According to one point of view, the process of modernization is subject to universal laws and is realized according to the same model. In this context it becomes possible to single out a certain standard, to which national variants of modernization can be compared. According to the other point of view, there are various national variants of modernization, caused by national cultural and other features. In the second case the selection of a standard becomes contentious. Mironov is closer to the first point of view. In comparison with with the standard model of modernization (which is associated with Western civilization), he draws conclusions about the basic identity of the Western and Russian paths of development, and about the normal, successful, and effective course of Russian modernization. Recognizing that Mironov’s interpretation looks more convincing than various versions of Russian pseudo-modernization, the author of the given article turns his attention to the complexity of the first approach in the interpretation of modernization: the underestimation of accident and uniqueness in history; the underestimation of temporal, spatial, and situational variabilities of modernization; underestimation of network effects; and the problematical character of comparison to “the West,” which itself produces its own various national variants of modernization